Bush picks governor of Idaho to head Interior

Peter Baker, Juliet Eilperin, Washington Post

Published 4:00 am, Friday, March 17, 2006

2006-03-17 04:00:00 PDT Washington -- President Bush named Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne as the new secretary of the interior Thursday, choosing a popular Western Republican with Washington experience and a disputed environmental record to oversee the nation's parks and public lands and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

If confirmed, Kempthorne would succeed Gail Norton, who announced her resignation this month at a time when her department is tied up in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. Kempthorne, 54, a two-term governor who served in the Senate in the 1990s, presumably should have little trouble winning the approval of his former colleagues.

"Dirk understands that those who live closest to the land know how to manage it best," Bush said as he introduced his nominee to reporters in the Oval Office.

Bush said Kempthorne would help "develop the energy potential of federal lands and waters in environmentally sensitive ways."

But environmental groups immediately assailed the selection, calling it the latest example of the Bush administration selling out to development and energy industry interests. Environmentalists complained that Kempthorne fought to open national forests to logging, mining and oil and gas drilling and worked to weaken safe water and endangered species laws.

"At a time when these controversial issues need a leader who can find common ground, the president could not have chosen a more divisive nominee," said Philip Clapp, president of the National Environmental Trust.

Kempthorne has been a favorite in the Bush White House for years and was considered, at one point three years ago, the likely choice for administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

But Kempthorne has also demonstrated independence from the White House on some issues. Just last month, he led a protest by the nation's governors against Bush's proposed cuts in Pentagon funding for the National Guard, calling them "a formula for disaster."

Kempthorne began his political career as mayor of Boise and then won election to the Senate in 1992 before returning home to run for governor in 1998.

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